1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera and, more particularly, to a digital camera which has an image display portion, which is capable of maintaining holdability with a grip portion when used for image taking, and in which the image display portion is protected by the grip portion during carrying or when the camera is made compact.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-211366 discloses a digital camera having a camera body in the form of a generally rectangular shape on which an image taking lens and an image pickup element are provided, and a grip portion having in its back surface a monitor on which a subject image taken with the image pickup element is displayed. The grip portion is turnably connected to a side portion of the image pickup unit.
In this digital camera, the camera body is turned relative to the grip portion so that the camera body and the grip portion have a flat form when the camera is made compact or carried, and an image taking posture is taken at the time of taking picture of a subject in front by turning the camera body frontward through 90 degrees relative to the grip portion.
That is, in the digital camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-211366 as a camera changed in form between when made compact (carried) and when used for image taking, the camera body in the form of a generally rectangular shape is turnable relative to the grip portion in the form of a generally rectangular shape, is turned in a picture taking direction at the time of image taking, and is turned so that the entire camera has a flat rectangular form when the camera is to be made compact or carried.
The camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-211366, however, is only constructed by connecting the camera body and the grip portion so that the camera body and the grip portion are relatively turnable, and has a drawback of requiring preparing a special cover and taking the trouble to placing the cover on the monitor provided in the grip portion to protect the monitor when the camera is carried or made compact. This is a matter of inconvenience.
In use of a lens-interchangeable camera having a large lens barrel, a user holds a grip portion of a camera body by his/her right hand and holds the lens barrel by his/her left hand in order to hold the camera with stability at the time of image taking.
A lens-interchangeable camera having a large lens barrel, however, has a grip portion extending laterally and, therefore, its portability is low. If the grip portion is reduced in size without deliberation for the purpose of improving portability, the weight balance between the camera body and the lens barrel becomes bad and the holdability and operability of the camera are reduced.
In recent years, progress has been made in reducing the entire size of digital cameras for the purpose of improving the portability as well as in increasing the screen size of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for the purpose of improving the viewability. However, these purposes are contrary to each other and the size of the portion (grip portion) holdable at the time of image taking is reduced if the area occupied by the LCD is increased with respect to the size of the camera body. If the grip portion is reduced, the possibility of a user's finger being placed on the LCD to hide a portion of an image and the possibility of camera shake due to deterioration of the holdability are increased. A digital camera designed to ensure both the desired portability and holdability with stability by attaching a turnable grip to a side surface of a body, e.g., one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-15072 is known.
LCDs are not sufficiently resistant to an external force such as pressure, and may be broken, for example, when hit during carrying. An increase in LCD screen size increases the risk of breakage by such an external force. It is, therefore, preferable to suitably protect an LCD during carrying, for example. The art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-15072 lacks consideration of protection of an LCD. A detachable cover for protecting an LCD during carrying is known. However, the attachment and detachment of such a cover is troublesome and leads to a reduction in operability of the digital camera.